77 Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

Crazy schedules, long work hours, and tempting takeout menus make it tough to even think about cooking most nights during the week. Despite the inconvenience, firing up the stove or oven is almost always cheaper and healthier than ordering in or eating out. How about a compromise? Making dinner with a slow cooker—Crock-Pot is the go-to brand in the U.S.—is an easy way to get in all those vitamins and minerals without slaving over a hot stove for hours at a time.

Most of these recipes involve mixing up ingredients and popping them into a slow cooker for a prescribed number of hours. Save even more time by starting some of these dishes overnight or first thing in the morning and reaping the delicious, healthy benefits later in the day.

Why not begin the day with a protein-rich superfood like quinoa? This recipe highlights why people love slow-cookers: Just dump the ingredients into a Crockpot and let them hang out together for a few hours. Insta-breakfast.

This vegetarian burrito filling includes loads of vegetables, beans, and eggs. Cook vegetables, spices, and beans together in the slow cooker overnight. Stuff tortillas with the filling and fresh scrambled eggs in the morning.

Making yogurt from scratch is takes some time, but it’s hands-off with a slow cooker and it’s much cheaper than buying it at the supermarket. Heat milk for about two hours using the high setting of the slow cooker. Unplug the slow cooker and let the milk cool a bit and then mix in ½ cup of store-bought plain yogurt. Wrap the still-warm (but unplugged!) slow cooker in a towel and let it sit out overnight. Once you have a batch of regular plain yogurt, go Greek by straining through a few layers of cheesecloth lining a colander. Let the mixture strain in the fridge overnight, and wake up to an extra thick and creamy bowl of Greek yogurt!

For the meat eaters out there, here’s an easy pork-based burrito filling that can be made overnight. Choose lean meat to make this spicy filling as healthy as possible. Add in some fresh avocado or spinach for good measure.

Forget the constant stirring and standing at the stove. This risotto recipe is super user-friendly. Add the ingredients to a slow cooker and set it on high heat for three to five hours, or low heat for six hours. Cut down (or out) the butter and use skim milk to make the recipe even healthier.

When a massive chocolate craving strikes first thing in the morning, this breakfast hits the spot. Despite the name, this oatmeal recipe isn’t too decadent — it uses coconut or skim milk, vanilla, and a bit of brown sugar to add sweetness.

Hosting a brunch party? Mix up this vegetarian frittata early and let it cook for an hour or so before guests arrive. Part-skim mozzarella cheese, low-fat milk, and plenty of fresh veggies make this a smart option at the breakfast table.

Power up for the day ahead with an antioxidant-filled, superfood-heavy breakfast. Quinoa provides plenty of protein, while the blueberries, chia seeds, and almond milk give the dish a healthy and flavorful boost.

This super-light banana bread is also gluten-free. Baking it in a slow cooker instead of the oven means running out to do errands during the cooking time is totally A-OK. This recipe cooks in about four hours on high.

Homemade granola is much cheaper and healthier than the store-bought stuff (who knows what’s in that cute package?!). Bonus—mixing and cooking it all in a slow cooker instead of the oven means there’s only one dish instead of multiple bowls and baking sheets to wash!

Soups and Stews

Take traditional chili up a notch with two types of beans and lean ground beef. Cook down the onions to remove some of the water, and then add them to the slow cooker with the other ingredients for four to six hours.

For many of us, remembering to soak dried beans ahead of time is surprisingly difficult. In this vegan recipe, combine straight-from-the-bag beans and hot water (along with other ingredients like peppers, onions, garlic, and chipotle chilies) in the slow cooker and remove the need for planning ahead.

This might be the ultimate slow cooker recipe. Toss chopped vegetables, sweet potatoes, lentils, herbs, and vegetable broth and cook on low for 10 hours. Start the process at night and wake up to a hearty blend of veggies, potatoes, and beans.

Meat Entrees

Everyone needs a comfort food fix every once in a while. Enter these healthy mini turkey meatballs, made with lean ground meat, olive oil, quinoa, and antioxidant-rich tomatoes. Serve them with whole-wheat pasta, crusty bread, or a side of warm roasted veggies.

No need to slave over a hot grill to make barbeque-worthy pulled pork. For this recipe, season the meat, stick it in a slow cooker overnight and wait for the magic (err…the pulled pork, that is). Add salsa, lettuce, guacamole, and any other toppings and wrap everything up in a flour tortilla for some showstopping soft tacos.

Beef stroganoff is a classic comfort dish, but the tons of cream usually involved don’t exactly make it a health food. This recipe uses organic mushroom soup, plain yogurt, and skinless chicken breasts to lighten up the classic dish.

Make a double batch of this easy shredded buffalo chicken; we promise it won’t go to waste. Salads, soup, pizza, wraps, and sandwiches all benefit from a hit of spicy meat! Or keep it fresh (and simple) with easy lettuce wraps.

No need to get takeout when a hankering for Chinese food strikes! This homemade recipe is lower in sodium and calories than the restaurant version. To make it even healthier, steam the broccoli instead of stir-frying it.

This hearty pot roast gets its flavor from homemade ranch dressing and sweet peppers. Make it really tender by cooking on the slow cooker’s high setting for three to four hours or low for six to eight hours.

Making a curry at home sounds difficult, but this dish only calls for three “exotic” ingredients—coconut milk, curry powder, and garam masala spice mix—and all of them can be found at most grocery stores. Serve this flavorful dinner with a side of brown rice or Indian naan bread.

Not exactly a master chef? This curry is perfect for those who don’t love fussing around the stove. Add the ingredients (all seven of ‘em) to a slow cooker, turn it on, and leave it alone for about three hours.

This spicy Hungarian dish gets its flavor from beef coated in crushed caraway seeds, paprika, and plenty of salt and pepper. Add veggies and let the concoction simmer in a slow cooker for four hours (on high) or seven hours (on low).

Sauté onions, garlic, carrots, and celery and place them in a slow cooker with some turkey thighs and drumsticks. Cover the entire shebang in tomatoes boiled in red wine and cook for five to six hours until the meat falls off the bone.

A roasted bone-in lamb shank resting on a bed of couscous looks fancy, but it isn’t too hard to make in a slow cooker. The key to a deep, rich flavor is searing the meat on the stovetop before adding it to the vegetables and spices in the slow cooker.

Vegetarian and Fish Entrees

Barley and risotto are normally words associated with fancy, fussy food. Not so with a slow cooker! This recipe takes about ten minutes to prep, so there’s no excuse not to whip up some risotto for a weeknight dinner.

This recipe has all of the “comfort factor” of classic mashed potatoes, but way fewer carbs and calories. Use the slow cooker to steam a head of cauliflower, and then add garlic, a bay leaf, and some butter and milk to give it some flavor.

As with any ratatouille, this is more of a guide than a strict recipe. Stuck with sweet potatoes instead of regular potatoes? Chuck them in the pot! No mushrooms? Whatever! Use ratatouille as pasta sauce, for filling an omelet, with beans or meat mixed in, etc. It’s the perfect dish to use up all those veggies lingering in the fridge.

Perfect for busy days, this light meal is super easy to prepare. Mix peppers, tomatoes, ginger, garlic, and plenty of spices together in a blender. Add the chickpeas and let everything simmer away in a slow cooker for six to seven hours (like, say, while you sleep!).

Dessert

What’s a brown betty? It’s like a cobbler or a bread pudding in that it contains buttery bread and sweet, spiced fruit. This banana-infused version is soy-free, vegan, and can easily be made gluten-free.

Homemade candies usually aren’t lower in calories than store-bought sweets, but they typically have fewer chemicals and preservatives. This fudge is made with chocolate chips, coconut milk, honey, vanilla, and sea salt. That’s all, folks.

This recipe uses half the butter of classic apple crisp recipes. Layer apples, walnuts, spices, brown sugar, and flour topping and cook in the slow cooker for four hours on the low setting. A touch of apple butter (recipe below!) keeps this dessert moist and contributes to the strong apple flavor.

Cut the cream cheese in half with this citrus-flavored dessert by subbing in tofu! This makes it much lighter than a traditional cheesecake. Blend the ingredients together, place them in a pan, and stick the pan into the slow cooker for about three hours on high.

This dessert falls somewhere between pumpkin pie and crème brulée. What’s not to love? Blend the ingredients together and fill ramekins or oven-safe jars 2/3 full. Place in a slow cooker holding an inch of hot water, and cook the custards for four to six hours.

Snacks, Drinks, and Sauces

Throw pumpkin puree, apple juice, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and sugar into the slow cooker and let everything gel together for about five hours. Stir occasionally to prevent the pumpkin-y goodness from getting burnt around the edges!

No-knead slow cooker bread means that anyone with about five minutes of free time can make a delicious homemade loaf. Baking bread in the slow cooker actually takes less time than the oven, because the bread rises and cooks all in one step.

Hosting friends for a winter party? Greet them at the door with a cup of warm mulled apple cider. Combine cider, brown sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg for a yummy non-alcoholic beverage that makes the whole house smell like autumn to boot.

Nothing warms from the inside out quite like mulled wine (seriously, ask Dickens). To make this winter classic, mix a bottle of dry red wine with aromatic spices and clementines and heat everything together in the slow cooker.

Make breakfast or snack time more interesting with a dollop of this spiced spread. Apple butter tastes amazing on a slice of toast or stirred into a cup of plain yogurt. This version has no added sugar.

Make your own sweet and spicy snack mix for munching between meals or as a delicious party appetizer. Coat nuts with cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, and a bit of powdered sugar and cook in a slow cooker for about two hours.

The hot toddy gets a flavorful makeover with fresh lemon, crystallized and fresh ginger, and a touch of rum. Cook the non-alcoholic ingredients together for four hours before adding the rum and brandy.

This sweet drink would make a great after-dinner beverage. Coffee balances out the semisweet chocolate, and a touch of brandy gives it an adult edge. To make this drink kid-friendly, just take out the alcohol.